Lu Yun and his companions quickly departed from the core of the Abyssal Hell. The second they left, an expressionless Princess Mu abruptly lifted her head, an eerie light dawning in her lifeless eyes.
……
Lu Yun had turned this hell into a sea of lava two thousand years ago, destroying all of the zombie farms and Great Formations of Corpse Refinement within. Ridges and hills now undulated through its terrain, forming numerous mountain ranges. He cautiously poked his head out of a moderately sized mountain valley.
“This is the backdoor you left?” Jian Bu’er asked incredulously. This was a very ordinary place!
“Yes, the layout here isn’t apparent because it’s only half complete,” Lu Yun nodded. He’d placed a tiny mark when he destroyed the zombie farms—a half finished layout that was connected with the core of this hell and the tomb that he’d set up.
Although he was highly confident in himself, the Abyssal Tomb was so immensely important that he’d created a contingency plan, just in case. It turned out to be a good thing that his arrangements were just a draft. Otherwise, the Corpse Refiners would’ve found their way here and destroyed everything as well.
“Help me connect it to the earthen vein and complete the layout!” he called out as he drew a diagram in the air. Jian Bu’er and the Demonic Vine jumped into action, following the instructions detailed on the diagram.
It was the layout of a mother and child tomb. The child tomb was in the core of the Abyssal Hell—the tomb that he’d set up for the tomb owner. The mother tomb would be set up here. This particular layout didn’t exist in common repertoire as of yet; Lu Yun had created it by imitating the mother and child formations. It was the first and only of its kind.
The child tomb was a complete tomb by itself before the mother tomb layout was complete, but would spontaneously transform into a child tomb when their efforts concluded. The two tombs would link to each other and activate as a mother and child tomb layout. No matter what Lu Yun did in the mother tomb, it would also affect the child tomb.
The mother tomb’s layout swiftly took shape with concerted effort from Jian Bu’er and the Demonic Vine. Lu Yun was in charge of manipulating the earthen vein and modifying the local feng shui to make it more favorable for the mother tomb.
“Why do I feel like there’s so many pairs of eyes on us?” the vine suddenly mumbled uncomfortably.
“This is the Abyssal Hell where the bodies of all life are buried,” Lu Yun answered. “There are countless corpses beneath our feet and even the dirt you see is corpse dust. Since there are countless wills of the dead here, you’re naturally able to sense their gaze because you’re very perceptive.”
“Oh, I see.” She blinked and continued shifting rocks around. It was Jian Bu’er who fidgeted uncomfortably before continuing with his task.
“But… it’s still weird.” The vine paused again and looked above her. “Does the will of the dead appear in the sky? Shouldn’t they all be buried beneath the ground?”
Color drained from Lu Yun’s face and he peered at the sky with the Spectral Eye. A faint figure stood in the uppermost reaches of the Abyssal Hell, a place where eyesight didn’t extend to. Its remote gaze regarded the group in unblinking fashion.
The Spectral Eye clearly denoted everything about the figure and her form—Princess Mu!
“She’s a zombie, but she’s still alive!” Lu Yun inhaled sharply and put everything away for the moment.
Princess Mu drifted down from the air. She was expressionless, just like any other zombie, but an eerie light glinted out of her aloof eyes.
Jian Bu’er and the Demonic Vine tensed with wariness.
“This won’t do, you won’t fool the Corpse Refiners this way,” the princess suddenly addressed them. “They are one of the strongest sects in the outside realm and their grasp of feng shui and other layouts has reached nigh magical realms a long time ago. They’re far superior to you and saw through your backdoor early on. They didn’t destroy it only because they want to use it to capture you.”
Lu Yun studied the princess, unable to determine her current status.
“They’ve refined Haidong Lin and extracted all of his memories. They know everything about you.” There were no human emotions in her voice—she spoke as if she was an electrical repeater, but her words raised the hair on Lu Yun’s neck all the same.
“The Corpse Refiners are one of the strongest sects in the outside realm? No way!” Jian Bu’er didn’t quite believe it.
Princess Mu cocked her head in thought. “Among the factions that lack the sequences of dao, they are the strongest.”
Jian Bu’er and the Demonic Vine looked at each other with amazement.
“And what are you? If I’m reading you correctly, you’re one of their battle zombies, so how are you maintaining your consciousness?” Lu Yun asked. “Who are you? Are you Princess Mu of the World of Sea or something from the outside realm in her body?”
The princess nodded. “I have indeed co-opted Princess Mu’s identity and inherited her destiny. To be refined by the Corpse Refiners is her fate, but since the destiny of this land no longer exists, every step we take is the future. That is how I was able to wrest my will free from corpse dao.
“I know you can help me return to my old self and free me from being a zombie!” The light in her eyes grew brighter and the corners of her mouth twitched, as if she wanted to smile.
But zombies didn’t smile.
“Don’t trust her!” the Demonic Vine suddenly cried out. “I have a feeling that if you help her, we’ll all die in her hands!”
She grabbed Jian Bu’er’s arm and hid behind him.
Whoosh!
Lu Yun ignited with gray fire and he punched the princess.
Taken aback, Princess Mu’s reflexes were very fast. She vanished just when Lu Yun’s fist was about to touch her.
“Zombies don’t smile and you hide yourself very well, but your twitching lips formed a smile for a split second.” Lu Yun was borrowing power from the Abyssal Hell and blazed with hellfire. He also vanished to pursue the princess. Last time he was here, he was only a Nihil World Sovereign. Now, he was a sixth level sequence expert.
